solid power for life

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SOLID POWER FOR LIFE
President’s Letter
WELCOME TO AMPED!
PRESIDENT AND CEO
JOE CHARLES
GENERAL MANAGER
LYLE ST. ROMAIN
OPERATIONS MANAGER
JEAN MIKA
ENGINEERING MANAGER
JEFF KAISER
’d like to welcome you to the premiere
issue of Amped, our new magazine/catalog hybrid dedicated to showing you
how Charles Industries can power your life.
We think this innovative “magalog” package,
with the magazine on one side and the catalog
on the other, will more fully capture all of the
possibilities that Charles products represent.
On the catalog side, I’m proud that we can
truly be your one-stop source for marine electrical system needs and industrial solutions.
On the magazine side, we take deeper looks at
our new offerings and show Charles products
in action right where you’ll use them.
It’s no secret that I’m an avid boater. Over the course of a year, my wife
and I navigate the Great Lakes, eastern seaboard and Florida coasts. So
when you choose a Charles product, remember that they’re not only tested
in the lab, but also on the water. I would never sell a product I wouldn’t be
proud to have servicing my own boat. That’s why for more than 35 years,
the Charles Industries Marine Group has worked hard to provide sport,
commercial and recreational boaters with the highest quality AC and DC
power systems, shore-power cabling and onboard communications systems.
As a boater myself, the last thing I want to think about is whether everything will work when I’m offshore. In the magazine portion of Amped, we
explore how Charles products enable your onboard lifestyle. Dr. Keith
DeGreen, a radio talk show host, embarked on a journey around the world
onboard his Nordhavn 55, broadcasting the entire time thanks to reliable
power (page 14). But Charles Industries isn’t only on the water—we also
charge up Chicago’s Sears Tower, keeping the aircraft warning lights steadily blinking (page 26). Lastly, find out how we create all of these products
and ensure quality with a tour of our factory (page 18).
A cause that has always been important to me is helping individuals with
disabilities, which is why Barb and I donated two boats to help some of
these individuals become involved in the sport of sailing (page 30). There is
nothing more satisfying than a day on the water, and I am proud to have
shared that experience with such an inspiring group of people.
Whatever your inspiration may be, I hope that you enjoy this issue of
Amped and that you’ll find even more ways we can help power your life.
I
All the best,
Joe Charles
President and CEO
PUBLIC RELATIONS CONSULTANT
SUZANNE HAWLEY
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SOLID POWER FOR LIFE
PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER
DOUGLAS LEIK
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
RANDY HESS
SENIOR EDITOR
JENNIFER CHESAK
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
EMILY FORD
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
LIZZIE CARLSON
EDITORIAL INTERN
AMY WEINFURTER
ART DIRECTOR
RUSSELL DUNCAN
ART DIRECTOR
HAIYEN CHIN
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
ANNIE ETHRIDGE
P
U
B
L
I
S
H
I
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G
WWW.DINOPUBLISHING.COM
PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER
DOUGLAS LEIK
Amped is published two times a year for
Charles Industries by Dino Publishing LLC.
Any correspondence should be directed to:
Dino Publishing
350 W. Hubbard St. Suite 400
Chicago, IL 60610
Tel: 312.822.9266 Fax: 312.822.9268
email: dleik@dinopublishing.com
The opinions expressed in this magazine
are not to be considered official
expressions of Dino Publishing or Charles
Industries. The publisher reserves the
right to accept or reject all editorial or
advertising matter. The publisher assumes
no responsibility for unsolicited
manuscripts, photographs or artwork.
Reproduction in whole or in part of any
text, photograph or illustration without
prior written permission from the
publisher is strictly prohibited. Printed in
U.S.A. Copyright © 2007
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SOLID POWER FOR LIFE
VOLUME 1, NO. 1
TOWER ABOVE
26
2
GLOBE TROTTER
NEW ORLEANS
22
14
DEPARTMENTS
4
PLUGGED IN
Charles hangs out in your backyard, helps Cinderella and
goes to Hong Kong. • Boaters get heart smart with Charles
seminars. • Store your boat in Charles’ safe haven.
FEATURES
14 GLOBE TROTTER
A radio talk-show host embarks on a global voyage,
broadcasting his show from his ship along the way.
18 MADE IN THE U.S.A.
8
CHARGED UP
Parties on your boat are fun, safe and fully charged with
Charles Marine.
Charles fosters a sense of family, purpose and American
pride at its five Midwestern manufacturing plants.
22 REPOWERING NEW ORLEANS
10 KEEPING CURRENT
Charles Marine gives you the low-down on caring for all
of your onboard AC/DC needs so that you never lack for
adequate power.
Charles takes commerce to the Big Easy with
a product demo following Katrina.
26 TOWER ABOVE
12 B-SAFE
Charles Industries supplies the transformers for the
air-traffic safety lights on top of the Sears Tower.
Isolation transformers from Charles Industries ensure
you’ve always got the power to play on the water.
30 LAUNCHING BOATS AND DREAMS
Charles Industries supplies power that goes way beyond
electricity.
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PLUGGED IN
DO YOU NEED A BOOST?
Numbers, nomenclature and news for the thoroughly plugged in.
4
IT KEEPS
GOING &
GOING
THE INVINCIBLE INCHARGER
Every parent knows to stock up on extra batteries at Christmas time. The last thing you want
is for little Timmy’s excitement about his new
gadget to turn into a tantrum when the thing
won’t blink and bleep. Industrial engineers seem
to feel the same way about their gadgets. Deny
them an uninterrupted supply of DC power
where they need it, and the tantrum may be
more subdued, but the emotions will run just
as deep.
Like a prescient parent on Christmas morn,
Charles Industries offers those engineers the
new InCharger, a rugged industrial battery
charger that combines ground-breaking design
with high-tech features. Charles Industries has
provided reliable DC-power solutions to the
marine and industrial markets for decades, and
the new InCharger builds on that legacy with
enhanced ease of use and a rugged constitution.
Constructed from industrial grade anodized
aluminum, the InCharger is specifically
designed to perform in the most demanding
environments. The unit’s universal AC input
and configuration for gel, flooded lead acid,
AGM or NiCAD batteries with 12- or 24-VDC
selectable output makes the InCharger a onestop purchasing decision for industrial customers.
That flexibility of output is delivered through
an elegant soft-touch interface that will make
any engineer smile, with a fully customizable
setup for all industrial settings.
“Our engineering team has developed the
most innovative battery charger system to
enter the marketplace,” says Lyle St. Romain,
managing director of the Charles Marine
& Industrial Group. “The InCharger has
revolutionized the use of battery chargers in
an industrial setting to surpass all customer
expectations.”
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IN THE ’HOOD
It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood with Charles Industries
in your backyard. Didn’t know
Charles was there? Look at your
NID. A Network Interface Device
is a device installed by your
phone company to connect your
indoor wiring to the telephone
network, and it’s usually mounted
near your electrical meter. Check
yours—Charles just might be
helping you reach out and touch
someone each time you pick up
the phone. Charles even goes
beyond your boat and your
backyard. To find out how Charles
Industries plays a role in air traffic
safety, turn to page 26.
Rugged and elegant, the InCharger stakes its claim on greatness.
With the increasing demand for
onboard marine electronics, it can
be difficult to keep nautical tools
and toys powered up. That’s
where SmartBoost, Charles
Industries’ new universal AC
voltage booster, comes in.
Whenever dockside power falls
below 210 VAC, SmartBoost adds
a 15 percent AC voltage boost to any
existing 50-amp transformer. Designed to
increase incoming AC shore power voltage, it
ensures that the equipment you and your boat
depend on has enough juice to do its job.
This power-enhancer fits neatly into any
power management system. Designed as a
separate boost control unit, it works with
any 12Kva or 15Kva (50 amp) isolation
transformer, even those made by other
manufacturers.
Additionally, terminal blocks facilitate easy
customer connections. Once installed, this
product is simple and straightforward to use:
A fully automatic operation, manual 1:1
override and low-voltage Boost & Power LED
indicators keep the consumer informed and
in control. With an optional remote indicator
panel, users can also monitor its status from
any location, making the SmartBoost as
versatile as it is powerful.
The only transformer made especially for
the marine industry and to fit ABYC and
NMMA standards, it also has CE certification
for European use. No matter how large your
electronic collection grows, SmartBoost ensures
you’ll always be able to power up safely.
YACHT STORAGE GALORAGE
As much as he searched, Joe
Charles couldn’t find a
suitable place to store his
Florida-based yacht during
the summer. He wanted to
be confident it would be
protected from the
elements—especially if a
hurricane rolled in.
After failing to find the
ideal solution, he developed
one of his own. His River
Forest Yachting Center in
Stuart now provides a safe
haven for not only his own boat, but for
dozens of other discriminating owners
of large yachts. “We’re not a boatyard,”
says Joe, the president and CEO of
Charles Industries. “We’re a long-term
summer boat storage facility.”
The key difference is climate control.
The facility protects boats from the
ravages of sun, extreme weather,
humidity and mold. “It’s like giving your
boat another birthday,” Charles says.
Launched in 2004 at a 9-acre facility in Stuart, Florida, with room for 150
boats, the concept caught on fast.
Charles is already expanding to the
other side of Lake Okeechobee, serving
the west coast of Florida with an
Ortona location that will be open next
spring. There’s also a site in Grand
Haven, Michigan.
A successful offshoot of the yachting
center is the Hurricane Club, which
guarantees its customers a safe spot
whenever a named storm approaches.
“Come hurricane time,” Joe says, “they
come flooding through the St. Lucie
Lock like crazy.” For more information,
call (772) 287-4131.
(Above, left) Charles Industries hangs out in your backyard in the form of a Network Interface Device.
PREMIERE ISSUE / amped
5
PLUGGED IN
TAY KAY CHIN
Charles is making waves everywhere, helping out with homeland
security as well as all your marine
power needs. To learn more
about Charles Industries, visit
www.charlesindustries.com. You’ll
find press releases, as well as a list
of upcoming marine aftermarket
product shows.
Also, flip this magazine over and
check out the catalog section for a
complete listing of our marine
electrical products.
We want to hear your Charles
stories. Do you have a favorite
product or a picture of your boat
in a fabulous port of call?
Send to ampedmag@dinopublishing.com or Amped Magazine,
350 W. Hubbard St., Suite 400, Chicago, IL 60610.
SLEEK, SAFE & ISOLATED
For as long as boats have been built, boaters
have tried to bring the best of the onshore
world—which increasingly includes electronic
equipment and energy—to the sea. They have
long relied on isolation transformers to bridge
this shore-to-sea gap and provide clean and safe
power to marine vehicles.
Since Charles Industries
transformers make it possible to fully isolate a boat’s
electrical system from the
shore, they reduce the risk
of in-water shock and
eliminate the need for galvanic isolators and polarity
alarms. They also protect
onboard electronics from
dangers such as reverse
polarity, voltage transients, spikes and noise.
The new Charles ISO-G2 upgrades these
advantages into a sleek and improved model,
available at the same cost as previous models.
The ISO-G2’s reconceived design fosters
versatility, allowing it to more easily fit into a
variety of boats and spaces. A new lightweight
60-pound model increases maneuverability and
makes installation simple. Terminal blocks have
wiring options to match both vertical and horizontal installation, so owners can choose the
orientation that works
best for them.
Additionally, the 30amp ISO-G2 comes in
both 3.6kVA and 3.8kVA
versions, offering solutions for smaller vessels in
both North America and
abroad. Built with a full
current-carrying shield,
Charles isolation transformers are the only
transformers created specifically for the marine
industry. They meet all ABYC and NMMA
standards and are certified for European use.
Mix the best of the electronic and marine
worlds with ISO-G2.
(Above, left) Charles Marine keeps boaters on smaller vessels safe, confident and secure with StartNow.
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You may have thought it was
Prince Charming, but it’s actually Charles Industries that lights
up the lives of Cinderella, Snow
White and Sleeping Beauty.
Charles supplies light to movie
theaters at Disney Hong Kong,
rescuing all those damsels in
distress from the dark and
bringing big-screen adventure
to Far East viewers. Charles is
also a superstar on Hong Kong’s
famous Star Ferry—the passenger ferries that run across
Victoria Harbour between the
island of Hong Kong and
Kowloon use the new Charles
HQ ABS Battery Chargers.
HEART SMART
DeFever Cruisers, a worldwide
group of enthusiastic boaters,
have been getting more than just
a little R & R on their rendezvous
lately. They’ve also been picking
up the necessary skills to ensure
that everyone makes it safely to
their final ports of call. Charles
Marine’s seminar, “Lifesaving
Defibrillators—Beating the Odds
of Sudden Cardiac Arrest,”
teaches boaters how to use
portable defibrillators to save
lives on the water.
The American Heart
Association estimates that coronary heart disease kills between
225,000 to 300,000 people each
year, most before they ever
reach a hospital. Since the rate of
survival decreases by seven to
10 percent with every minute
between the onset of cardiac
arrest and defibrillation, finding
immediate care is crucial.
Charles Marine’s seminar aims
to train boaters in using
HeartSine’s new PAD (Personal
Access Defibrillator). PAD’s audio
prompts and illustrated icons can
7
guide even infrequent users to
deliver life-saving care. Compact,
shockproof, water-resistant and
extremely lightweight (it weighs
less than two pounds), the defibrillator is easy to carry and store.
The Samaritan PAD includes a
carrying case, prep kit and two
Pad-Paks (each has a set of
defibrillator pads with a 6-hour
battery capable of delivering
more than 30 shocks).
With these seminars, Charles
Marine hopes to ensure that
hearts keep beating out the
rhythm of many trips to come.
For more information about
the Samaritan® PAD, visit
www.charlesindustries.com.
GUY NOWELL
6
You’ve got a full fishbox and are ready
to head home to cook your catch, but
there’s one problem: Your engine
won’t start.
Electric trolling motors, bilge pumps,
stereos and lights can all be the cause
of a zapped engine battery. Avoid the
frustration with StartNow, Charles
Marine’s innovative new product that
keeps batteries and boats up and running
so you can get to the fish and back.
StartNow provides automatic starting
assurance for vessels
from 15 to 29
feet, helping
boaters travel
more safely
and with greater
peace of mind.
Its microprocessor
allows the main
battery to drain
without depleting
the reserve battery,
ensuring that the reserve
battery will always be ready if needed.
The device’s computer monitors the
main engine, draws additional energy
from the reserve battery when the
engine shows signs of trouble and
then automatically recharges itself.
This ingenious product’s exterior
matches its dazzling interior features.
Enclosed in a high-quality, ABS-plastic
sealed case, it uses stainless steel connections and rubber caps to enhance safety.
StartNow is waterproof, maintenancefree and designed to last the life of your
boat. It can be conveniently mounted
close to the battery, and with minimum
wiring it’s a snap to install.
StartNow’s intelligent and durable
design will get you home in time for
dinner everytime.
POWER SURFING
STEVEN J. CONWAY
GENTLEMEN,
START YOUR
ENGINES
HONG KONG
CONNECTION
(Above, right) DeFever Cruisers pull into port to have a heart-to-heart with Charles Marine about safety.
PREMIERE ISSUE / amped
DEPARTMENT NAME
CHARGED UP
AC power from your ship-to-shore
connection will run all the electronics on your
boat that you would usually use at home…
8
POWER TO PLAY
t may not be the holiday season, but
summer is a sort of season-long holiday
in itself. From backyard barbecues to
pool-side parties, there’s a nation-wide shift to
the outdoors—and to any activity that allows us
to be outside as much as possible. This craving for
sun and sea is what makes boating the quintessential way to celebrate the summer season. But,
outdoors or not, you’ll still need one incredibly
important ingredient to make those dock-side
parties and summer night cruises really sizzle:
power, and lots of it. The engineers at Charles
Marine make it their duty to provide boaters
with every gadget they could possibly need to
safely and easily power their boat and any
necessary appliances during all their summer
on-water celebrations, whether a full day out on
the lake, or a full night docked in the marina.
When you take the fun on the run away from
the marina and its shore-power source, you’ll
I
need a new arsenal of products to keep the good times rolling. When the engines are running, they
will take care of charging the batteries; however, your boat’s batteries produce DC power, and many
of your boat’s party-friendly electronics need AC power to run. Charles Marine’s DC-to-AC Power
Inverters come to the rescue. Inverters convert 12V and 24V DC battery power into 110V/60Hz
or 220V/50Hz of AC power that can be used to operate onboard equipment and appliances while
underway. Inverters can be a viable alternative to turning on a generator, as they produce less noise
and no fumes and require less power to run.
Back at the marina with your boat’s engines shut down, shore power will handle your AC needs,
but you’ll also use it to charge your boat’s batteries and keep your DC system cranking. Charles
Marine’s SP Series Electronic Battery Chargers work with all three types of batteries—lead acid, gel
cell and AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat). The new 5000 SP and 2000 SP Battery Chargers feature a
battery-type selector switch that enables boaters to use the charger with any of the three battery
types. Charles Marine batteries also feature three-stage charging, automatic recharging, resistance to
harsh marine environments and the ability to simultaneously function as a battery charger and a
power supply.
Parties in the marina definitely have their perks. The captain can more comfortably stray from the
helm to have a little fun, revelers can come and go on their own schedule and neighbors down the
dock can join the festivities. But even better, the marina has all the power you could possibly need,
just a shore outlet away.
Once hooked up to shore power with one of Charles Industries’ C-Cable Marine power products,
Put Charles in charge of all your power needs so you can stay in charge of the festivities.
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KELLY KOON
Good times on your boat are fun, safe and fully charged with Charles Marine
BY LIZZIE CARLSON
you’ll enjoy a dependable, secure connection
between your onboard electrical system and
the marina’s shore outlet. Charles Industries
boasts more than 35 years of in-house molding
and metal stamping capabilities to offer a wide
range of corrosion-resistant shore-power cables
that ensure the safety and reliability of your shipto-shore connections. However, just being
hooked up to shore isn’t enough. AC power from
your ship-to-shore connection will run all
the electronics on your boat that you would
usually use at home with a regular wall outlet,
from blenders to refrigerators to air conditioning
to speakers for playing your iPod’s summer party
mix. But, hooking up to shore power also carries
some risks. The main problem with marina
shore-power systems is grounding, but corroding
junction boxes or outlets can also cause a short.
This kind of fault can fail to push enough juice
back up the line to trip a breaker. If the breaker
doesn’t trip, it could heat up the fault area and
cause a fire, or it could force the current flowing
into the boat to seek another route back to
land—most likely through the boat’s DC ground
and into the water. While posing numerous risks
to the boat and its passengers, this is especially
dangerous to any party-goers who may end up in
the water, as even minimal amounts of electrical
current can cause injuries or worse.
The safest solution to this potential problem
is an isolation transformer. Charles Marine’s line
of C-Power Isolation Transformers electrically
isolate the AC shore power from the boat’s AC
power system, preventing issues with grounding
and potential dangers for swimmers. In addition,
this isolation also means that your AC power will
be cleaner and unaffected by possible interference
from neighbors’ electrically noisy chargers or other
issues. The units also prevent galvanic action
between your vessel and others, eliminating the
need for a dedicated galvanic isolator.
Charles Marine isolation transformers are the
only isolation transformers that are approved by
Marine UL, an independent lab that tests marine
equipment for temperature, shock, vibration,
corrosion and safety considerations specific to
the marine environment. C-Power Isolation
Transformers are also unique in that they have a
full current-carrying shield, which means even a
lightning strike won’t have an adverse effect on
the boat’s electrical system.
The technical details for all of these Charles
Marine products are important, but more
important is the peace of mind and good times
they deliver. Charles has you covered. And what
better to toast than that?
Kerry O’Hare finds AC bliss with a frozen margarita fresh from her galley blender.
PREMIERE ISSUE / amped
9
DEPARTMENT NAME
KEEPING CURRENT
10
IT’S ELECTRIC!
Charles Marine gives you the low-down on powering up
BY AMY WEINFURTER
here’s nothing quite like taking a
long cruise and waking up in a different port every morning ready to
explore. With the steam wafting from your
espresso machine and a podcast piping through
your MP3 player, it’s easy to take the electricty
powering all the comforts you’ve brought from
home for granted. The folks at Charles
Industries hope you will. They make worry-free,
hassle-free products to power all of your
onboard needs, so you can sit back, relax and
enjoy your cruise or port of call. But if you’re
looking for the skinny on juicing up, here are
the basics. On boats, power stems from two
sources: AC power, which comes from generators, shore power or inverters; and DC power,
which comes from batteries.
AC (Alternating Current) power sustains
anything you would connect to a typical home
outlet, such as hair dryers, blenders, microwave
ovens or coffee makers. The new Charles Marine
PM3 Modular AC Power Management System
makes it possible to operate the maximum rated
amount of AC electrical equipment without
T
danger of exceeding load capacity. Built for vessels 50 feet or longer, the PM3 harnesses a minimum
of 50 amps and a maximum of 100 amps of shore power into the vessel’s main distribution point. Its
unique three-piece modular design enables boat builders to distribute its weight and size as required
onboard the ship. The microprocessor, controlled by customizable software, also helps you tailor the
system to better fit into your boat.
DC (Direct Current) power is for battery-operated equipment like lighting, bilge pumps, radios
or bow thrusters. For marine DC power, three types of batteries are commonly used: lead-acid, gel cell
and AGM. When choosing a battery for your boat, consider cost, level of care and your specific power
needs. Lead acid is the most common, most economical and requires the most maintenance. Lead acid
batteries must be refilled, usually on a monthly basis. Gel cell batteries are also common and a bit
more expensive, but they require less maintenance than the lead acid variety. AGM (Absorbed Glass
Mat) are the newest technology and the most expensive, but they require very little maintenance.
Once the batteries are in place, the next step is to keep them powered up. While the boat is underway, the boat engines keep the batteries charged. When the boat is hooked up to shore, however,
battery chargers do this work. Chargers like the Charles 5000 SP Series charge all three battery types,
so you can upgrade to a different kind of battery without purchasing a new battery charger. They also
provide the constant voltage needed by some of the DC equipment and multiple-stage charging to
multiple battery banks. When first turned on, they send a strong charge into the batteries. As the
batteries near full charge, the charging diminishes. In the final stage, they put out a
“trickle” or maintenance charge, essential for items that automatically turn on and off, such as bilge
pumps and lighting. If these items continue to operate without a small charge going to the batteries,
you could find yourself with dead batteries that cannot be recovered.
Charles Industries takes care of your AC and DC power needs, so you can enjoy your espresso,
your air conditioning and your favorite songs for many summers to come.
(At right) Galley ho! With Charles Marine products, your boat is in ship shape for your home-away-from-home appliances.
amped / PREMIERE ISSUE
DEPARTMENT NAME
B-SAFE
One device safeguards your entire array of
vital, and expensive, electronic equipment
onboard the vessel...
SHIP TO SHORE
Charles Marine isolation transformers take the worry out of plugging in
so you can hook up to good times
BY AMY WEINFURTER
fter a long day of cruising and
entertaining on your boat, the
thought of getting back to the
dock—to finally crack open some cold beverages
or heat up some of your famous paella for dinner—can be music to happy, wind-blown ears.
A
You expertly pull into port, envisioning the warm shower that awaits you after the night is over and
listening to your guests good-naturedly argue over who gets to play DJ for the night. As you trail your
Charles Marine cables over to connect to shore power, your breath catches for an instant and you look
with trepidation at the lights and music coming from the large yacht next door. In all the commotion,
you nearly forgot that without a good power connection, the party might just end early.
Hooking up to shore power can be a tricky and sometimes risky business. There’s often no way
to check on a connection’s reliability or predict the way marina power will affect a boat’s
electrical system. Fortunately, isolation transformers take the worry out of plugging in, putting an end to anxious guessing games upon arrival at port. By electrically isolating boats
from shore, transformers protect them from power nemeses such as galvanic corrosion,
fluctuations in power and noise and polarity problems.
Isolation transformers work by isolating the AC shore power from the boat’s AC power
system, making your boat impervious to power surges and interruptions, and reducing fire
hazards. Additionally, Charles Marine transformers come with a unique full current-carrying shield, which makes them capable of withstanding up to a 3,000- to 5,000-amp
surge. In the most extreme case, even a lightning strike won’t adversely affect the boat’s electronic system.
In addition to protecting your electronics, Charles Marine’s Iso-Boost function ensures
The ladies and gentlemen of F Dock in Chicago’s Burnham Harbor like their fun well-powered.
amped / PREMIERE ISSUE
that onboard appliances always get the
voltage they need to operate properly.
In the past, a boat in an unlucky spot
(like the last slip on the dock or right
beside a large, power-hungry yacht)
might struggle to get enough power.
This common hitch leads to dimmed
lights, overheated motors and slowheating stoves. Since motor-driven
appliances like refrigerators and air conditioners require a full 240V to work
properly, this is also problematic if you
want to kick back in cool comfort or
enjoy a frozen treat. The Iso-Boost lets
you leave such worries behind, so that
the only thing you have to stress about
is whether to choose a popsicle or an ice
cream sandwich.
Transformers also prevent galvanic
corrosion, a dockside threat that
degrades metals electrochemically. It
causes corrosion that eats away propellers and any zinc onboard, threatening the health of your vessel. The
transformer eliminates this damage
and the need to invest in a dedicated
galvanic isolator, saving you money
and extraneous equipment.
The benefits of isolation transformers extend beyond the immediate
protection they provide from power
surges, galvanic corrosion and noise
and polarity glitches. Cost-effective
safety precautions mean more time
spent on the water and fewer
headaches. One device safeguards your
entire array of vital, and expensive,
13
STEVEN J. CONWAY
STEVEN J. CONWAY
12
electronic equipment onboard the vessel, providing peace of mind and smooth stopovers at any
port. Isolation transformers also protect you and
your guests from in-water electric shock.
The Charles Marine unit’s heavy-duty encapsulation resists shock, vibration and fluctuations
in temperature, so your transformer is low-maintenance and lasts the life of your boat. It’s also the
only Marine UL-approved isolation transformer,
guaranteeing users an unprecedented level of
safety. Isolation transformers provide the best
protection from potential shore-side hazards,
giving you peace of mind as you start your next
adventure.
The added features of Charles’ products
mean that all you’ll have to worry about the next
time you pull into dock is how to keep the music
and refreshments in safe hands.
It’s easy to toast the good times when the tunes are cranking and the champagne is flowing nice and cold.
PREMIERE ISSUE / amped
FEATURE / ADVENTURE
GLOBE TROTTER
FINANCIAL ADVISOR KEITH DEGREEN EMBARKS ON AN
AROUND-THE-WORLD JOURNEY ON HIS NORDHAVN 55
BY JENNIFER CHESAK / PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY THE GLOBAL ADVENTURE
T
All systems must work like clockwork
because they are traveling open waters
and airwaves simultaneously.
that was the start of The Global Adventure.”
Outfitted with state-of-the art communications systems and gear, Keith’s Nordhavn 55 is
serving as a “floating communications beacon.”
He and his crew are dedicated to exploring the
economical, political and cultural aspects as well
as investment opportunities of interesting ports
of call and reporting their discoveries through a
variety of media channels.
All of that getting around and sending
around requires some serious power. The
Nordhavn’s engines keep batteries charged while
en route, but battery juice requires a charger
when the ship takes to shore. A Charles Marine
C-Charger 80-amp Battery Charger provides
multiple-stage charging and the constant voltage
needed by most DC-powered communications
equipment. The final stage of the battery charger puts out an important maintenance charge
when the battery is fully charged. If any equipment continues to operate without a “trickle”
charge to the battery from the charger, it could
drain a battery.
All systems on The Global Adventure must
work like clockwork for Keith and his crew, not
only because they are traveling open waters, but
because they are traveling airwaves, as well, and
often simultaneously. “Whenever the Sunday
morning time comes up, whether in port or on
the open sea, he goes on air,” says Matt Dutile,
The Global Adventure cruises by Sokehs
Rock, also known as the “Diamond Head”
of Micronesia.
PHOTO CREDIT FOR DEPTS HERE ONLY 6 PTS DOWN FROM MARGIN AT X HEIGHT
16
here are those who say they’ve traveled the globe: New Agers who’ve
participated in yoga retreats in Goa,
jet setters who’ve red-eyed to every major
European city and Peace Corps vets who’ve lived
in yurts while teaching English in Mongolia.
They’ve certainly been around. But then there
are those who’ve really been around: the rare few
who’ve actually circled Earth. In a little more
than a year, Keith DeGreen, a nationally known
financial advisor, and the crew aboard his
Nordhavn 55 will be able to say they’ve done
it—toured the world. But for many people
acquainted with Keith and his renowned financial advice, it will be as if he never left home.
Arizona is home for Keith, where listeners in
the Phoenix area tune in to NewsTalk 550 KFYI
each Sunday morning to hear his suggestions on
everything from Roth IRAs to stock investments
to mortgage payment plans. Though Keith won’t
be anywhere near home this year (except for the
occasional flight back to visit his family in
Scottsdale), his listeners won’t have to miss him
or his tips.
“It had always been a dream of mine to travel by private ship around the globe,” says Keith.
“But I love to write, and I enjoy broadcasting my
radio show at KFYI—sharing investment advice
and economic and political perspectives along
the way. So, I was at the office one day when I
thought, why can’t I bring it all with me? And
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account coordinator at Gordon C. James Public
Relations, the company that helps the crew find
contacts in each port of call and handles media
inquiries.
Keith, who recently sold his estate-planning
law firm and registered investment advisory firm
so he could plan and embark on his adventure,
made history with his first broadcast from the
Nordhavn, which took place in Mexican waters
15 miles southeast of San Diego on January 25,
2007. It was the first offshore regularly scheduled
broadcast from a private ship. Since then he’s
broadcast from places like the
Republic of Palau, Hong Kong
and on the North Pacific about
200 miles west of Pohnpei,
Micronesia.
He broadcasts from the flybridge of the Nordhavn 55. A
Comrex Access codec converts
Keith’s analog voice signal to a
digitally encoded version that
is broadcast to a satellite via a
Fleet 77 KVH domed transmitter. The transmitter is
mounted on a gyroscope so
it can lock onto different satellites to produce broadcastquality audio and video signals.
An internet frequency picks up
the signal so it can be decoded
by another Comrex codec
located at the radio station.
“It’s basically pinging digital
signals,” says Matt, “and it
comes out as if he’s right there
in the studio.”
“It’s so clear,” adds Keith, “I
sometimes wonder if people
might think I’m really still in
Phoenix and making up the
whole trip!” The website, theglobaladventure.com, provides
evidence that they’re really out
there, cruising from port to
port. The crew updates a blog, photo gallery,
video section and message board with detailed
information on the economic and political situations of interesting countries. Sometimes web
surfers can even chat with Keith.
Keith and the crew—which includes Captain
Wolfgang Petrasko, ship engineer Brian Wallace,
and Alida Christianson, coastal captain and the
ship’s cook—put a lot of thought into their voyage before embarking. Their goal of not only
keeping in touch but also keeping people
informed of every detail along the way required
bringing a heap of communications equipment
onboard that would be compact enough to travel with.
The Global Adventure has 11 fixed and two
handheld video cameras, a broadcast mixer with
studio outlets, a VHF radio, a shortwave radio
and an iridium satellite phone. All data is sent via
the KVH transmitter, which has two modes of
transmitting and receiving: ISDN and MPDS.
The first is used for broadcasting the show or
communicating by phone and the second for
sending documents or for streaming video.
With a strict broadcasting schedule and a lot
of information to transmit, The Global
Adventure crew doesn’t have time to waste waiting for power. Luckily, if input voltage is low, an
80-amp Charles C-Charger can simultaneously
recharge and supply. The C-Charger automatically boosts the 12V and 24V circuit to full
capacity when needed. Also, Charles battery
chargers will not cause interference with onboard
electrical equipment. No matter where Keith and
crew are, his listeners and readers are guaranteed
insightful information via his radio show and
website.
Amidst all of this high-tech equipment it is a
surprise then when Keith’s son, Sam (13), cannot access his MySpace account while visiting
his father in Hangzhou, China. Turns out this is
not because of a technological snafu, however.
Keith writes in his blog about his son’s inability
to access his 30,000 or so cyber friends as an
example of how China’s government expects to
maintain political control over a country that
has economic freedom by limiting the flow of
non-economic information.
“How do you control the economic interests
of 1.3 billion people?” he writes in his blog. “You
don’t. John Maynard Keynes
would have loved the spirit of
enlightened self-interest that
drives the Chinese. But in
their robust growth-at-allcosts economy (according to
the World Bank, air and water
pollution
kill
750,000
Chinese each year), the freemarket here is as much
Darwinian as Keynesian. You
see the intense competition
among the Chinese everywhere. They are very polite to
each other, but whether competing for a cab or a job, the
competition is beyond fierce.”
Amidst foreign policy and
foreign currency, not to mention the breathtaking scenery
of these distant lands, Keith
still fields financial questions
from folks listening at home
or posting questions on the
website on revocable living
trusts, splitting divorce assets
and property swaps.
“He’s a financial guy,” says
Matt. “He takes the time for
everyone and he knows other
financial advisors and will
recommend someone in your
area. He really wanted to
make the trip about that. It’s not just a joyride.”
But, of course, Keith is having a blast, too.
You can’t beat taking a swim in depths of 25,000
feet of water en route to Hawaii, embarking on a
leisurely stroll through the Nan Madol ruins in
Pohnpei or engaging in a two-hour fishfight with
a 180-pound marlin caught by Captain
Wolfgang. That’s the beauty of the trip. Not only
do Keith’s listeners get uninterrupted financial
advice, but they also get a free tour of the world,
one that’s rich with knowledge of economic and
political situations to boot—and that’s true
wealth.
PREMIERE ISSUE / amped
17
FEATURE / MANUFACTURING
18
BORN IN THE USA
CHARLES INDUSTRIES FOSTERS A SENSE OF FAMILY,
PURPOSE AND AMERICAN PRIDE AT ITS FIVE MIDWESTERN
MANUFACTURING PLANTS
BY JOHN JANOWIAK
hen Joe Charles pilots his 80-foot
Berger yacht, you won’t see him
fly an offshore flag. For Joe, the
president and CEO of Charles Industries, it’s red,
white and blue all the way. “I’m just big on
America,” he says with a shrug. Not coincidentally, Old Glory is proudly displayed at each of his
five Midwestern manufacturing plants. From the
earliest days of the company, Joe has believed in
making his products in the United States and supporting small local communities along the way.
And what a long way the company has come.
Pioneered by Joe out of his Mount Prospect,
Illinois, basement in 1968, Charles Industries
now employs about 700 people. With headquarters in Rolling Meadows, Illinois—not far from
its basement origins—the company also has an
engineering facility in Pleasanton, California, and
a transformer facility in Jasonville, Indiana. But
the core of the manufacturing is accomplished by
good old-fashioned American labor at small-town
plants in Canton, Missouri; Rantoul, Illinois;
Casey, Illinois (two locations); and Marshall,
Illinois.
W
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Whenever Joe sets up a new plant in a small community, he sees an interesting transformation.
First, the local bank starts to remodel. Then, in short order, the furniture store gets a new front, and
then the grocery store and the church repave their parking lots. “I mean, you can watch it,” he says.
“In a small community like that, figure for about every 50 employees, it probably puts three quarters
of a million dollars into the local economy. If you put $2 million worth of revenue into a small
community, it’s amazing what that does. You start building homes. You have a tremendous impact.”
That impact goes beyond the purely economical benefits. Charles Industries uplifts these communities in myriad ways, sponsoring little league teams, holding company picnics and offering college
scholarships to outstanding high school students. The company will pay for any education an
employee decides to pursue, covering 100 percent of tuition costs as long as the student maintains
passing grades. For good attendance, employees are rewarded with grocery store coupons, which feed
mouths and local retail business.
Why does Joe care so much about supporting small U.S. communities? Partly because that’s the
way he is; he’s someone who likes to give back, and he gets great personal satisfaction from his role as
small-town benefactor. “You feel like you have a real obligation to take care of these people in small
communities,” he says. Joe enjoys visiting his plants and knows almost all his employees by name.
And ultimately, helping these communities is good for business. “Joe is really big on the Charles
family,” says Lyle St. Romain, general manager of the company’s Marine and Industrial group. “His
employees are his family.” That atmosphere is the engine that drives employee morale. It inspires them
to work hard, and they tend to stick around. When employees work for the company for five years,
they become part of the Anniversary Club. They’re rewarded with luncheons and gifts. It isn’t
uncommon for employees to be recognized for 10, 20 or even 30 years with the company.
Daughters work alongside their mothers and even grandmothers. In some cases, a mother will
take the summer off and her daughter will take over her job during summer break. “We’ve had
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20
people who have retired at 80 years old,” Joe
says. “Better than 60 percent of our employees
have been with the company for more than five
years. It’s a unique thing. We don’t run it like a
family business, but it’s a family business in the
way we treat people.”
Not that Joe’s motives are entirely altruistic.
For a manufacturer, there’s much to be gained
from a presence in small-town America. A plant
in downstate Illinois is less expensive to operate
than a plant in Chicago, and as a big fish in a
little pond, it carries more clout. “We could
build a plant in downtown New York or
Chicago, and no one would even know we’re
there,” Joe says. “We could come and go and no
one would even miss us.”
In small towns, there’s less red tape to cut
through and few political battles to fight. When
Charles Industries needs something—a road in
front of the plant, say, or a sprinkler system for
insurance purposes—it’s usually just a matter
of asking. “You go to the community, and the
next thing you know, the community gets an
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“Our culture has a sense of urgency. Our
culture is filling a need. Putting out a quality
product is really the reward.”
industrial revenue bond and puts up a water
tower,” Joe says. “Those are the kinds of things
that happen.”
In these days of widespread corporate outsourcing, it takes a special kind of company to
keep its manufacturing within U.S. borders.
Among manufacturers of marine battery chargers, Charles Industries is unique in this sense,
and it’s a source of great pride for the company.
Granted, Charles’ products incorporate some
components made offshore, things like capacitors and resistors that just aren’t made in the
United States anymore. “You can’t do much
about that,” Joe says. “But we do make our own
transformers locally. We do our own fabrication.” That in itself sets Charles Industries apart
from the competition.
It’s tempting to think a manufacturer can
only compete nowadays by jumping on the outsourcing bandwagon. As a savvy businessman,
Joe wouldn’t rule it out if he felt it was the best
way to deliver a quality product at a competitive
price. In fact, he did give it a whirl, but he was
unsatisfied with the results. At times, he has had
plants in the Philippines, Haiti and Mexico, but
eventually he brought everything back to the
United States. The “Made in the U.S.A.” credo
fits better with his personal conviction of supporting small local communities, and he likes
small-town America’s work ethic. Moreover, it
makes good business sense. There’s something to
be said for keeping operations close to home.
“From a productivity standpoint, if you automate, and you set your lines up right, you can be
competitive,” Joe says. “You might be amazed to
come through some of our plants and see how
automated we are. That’s where you make up the
difference.” When he moved operations from
Mexico to Casey, Illinois, for example, Joe paid
higher wages, but he had two people doing what
six workers were doing before. “It’s all about
productivity, laying lines out, automating,”
he explains. “The trick in the manufacturing
business it to get from point A to point B as
fast as you can. Not to see how many people you
can hire.”
For the end consumer, it adds up to a better
quality product, Lyle explains. “Typically, if
you’re dealing with an overseas company, they’ll
give you a great price, and they’ll probably give
you a great product for six months. Then you
start seeing the degradation of the specification.”
If someone has an idea for improving a product
or enhancing it with a new feature, it can be slow
and costly to implement those changes at an
overseas plant. “The ideal situation is being able
to engineer your own product, market your own
product and manufacture your own product, all
while having total control,” Lyle says.
Total control is exactly what Charles
Industries has over its manufacturing. Joe and his
management team make frequent visits to their
plants. They’re intimately involved with the dayto-day operations, and plant employees can see
their impact on the company’s output. At each
plant, up-to-the-minute information is posted
about product orders in each company division.
Everyone knows what’s being shipped each day.
They’re aware of annual volume, and if there’s an
issue with a customer, they know about that, too;
they’ll invite customers directly to the plant to
work out a problem.
“These people all know the company mission, and the quality is reflected in that type of
culture,” Joe says. “Our culture has a sense of
21
urgency. Our culture is filling a need. Putting
out a quality product is really the reward. That’s
what helps the business grow.”
Employees aren’t just punching the clock.
They’re part of a process, and that gives them
pride in the work they do and the products they
manufacture. That’s rare in the manufacturing
business, where workers often assemble products
without knowing what they’re used for or who
the customer is. “We try to get our people
involved,” Joe says. “As long as you keep them
involved, they know what they do and why they
do it. They have a much different attitude about
the pride that they take in creating the product.”
Customers can see this attitude firsthand.
When they open a battery charger box, they’ll
find a note from the person who actually inspected it. Clearly, this is a product that came from
the corn belt, not from the other side of the
world. And in case there’s any doubt, it comes in
a white box marked “Made in the U.S.A.” and
emblazoned with an American flag.
Joe exudes enthusiasm about his company.
This enthusiasm—as well as pride in his country
and in his employees—shows up in everything
that Charles Industries manufactures. “We’re just
excited about what we do,” Joe says. “It’s contagious. If you’re excited, you get people excited.
And if you get the product out the door, and the
product is good, you get customers back and
business grows. It just has that domino effect on
everybody.”
PREMIERE ISSUE / amped
FEATURE / NEW ORLEANS
REPOWERING
NEW ORLEANS
A THRIVING HOST FOR CONVENTIONS BEFORE KATRINA HIT,
NEW ORLEANS IS ONCE AGAIN ASKING BUSINESS PEOPLE TO COME
ENJOY ITS HOSPITALITY. CHARLES MARINE ANSWERED THE CALL
BY EMILY HAUSER
“The famously resilient nature of the area’s residents was strained to its absolute limit in that terrible time, but within days,
the people of New Orleans and all along the coast were back at what remained of their homes, businesses and schools.”
I
n August 2005, the Gulf Coast was
overwhelmed by the destructive power
of Hurricane Katrina. Horrifying days
followed, as people scrambled desperately to
save their own lives and those of loved ones. The
area’s infrastructure collapsed, entire neighborhoods were wiped off the map, and many thousands lost everything they had. The famously
resilient nature of the area’s residents was
strained to its limit, but within days, the people
of New Orleans and all along the coast returned
to what remained of their homes, businesses and
schools, and tried to rebuild a life once marked
by music and good food, historical resonance
and welcoming neighbors.
This great city continues to rebuild, with the
help of many across the nation for whom the
struggles of their fellow citizens felt like a call to
arms. Among the most complicated issues for the
city of New Orleans has been the question of
tourism. One-third of the city’s operating budget
comes from the tourism industry—how could
streets be re-paved or hospitals rebuilt if tourism
came to a complete halt?
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There is, then, a palpable gratitude among New Orleanians toward those who have recognized that
need, and then spread the word: The Big Easy is open for business.
Lyle St. Romain, general manager of the Charles Marine and Industrial group, currently works
outside Chicago, but is a New Orleans native. Like many, he watched the August 2005 news reports
with horror; in fact, his own parents’ home was flooded out in the storm surge.
“It was tough to see,” he recalled. “You grow up somewhere, and places that you loved are devastated. People know it was bad, but then when you go down there, it’s like a small nuclear bomb went off.”
Charles Industries’ first efforts at helping the region came immediately after the hurricane. With
electrical outages across much of the Gulf Coast, Charles stepped up to the plate and provided power
pedestals to bring electricity to the area. But beyond initial recovery, Lyle realized that he had a
perfect opportunity to make a lasting difference in his childhood city.
With the International Workboat Show returning to New Orleans last fall, Lyle hatched a plan to
do good for New Orleans while introducing new Charles Industries products.
Charles invited 15 recreational boating editors down to the show to be wined and dined and shown
a new product demo out on Lake Pontchartrain from November 30 to December 1, 2006.
Overwhelmingly, the editors jumped at the chance for a night’s stay at the luxe Omni Royal Orleans
hotel, and to get their hands on some fancy new gear, while enjoying the hospitality for which New
Orleans has always been known. “These editors know that, pretty quickly, whatever’s happening in
commercial boating works its way down to recreational boats,” Lyle said.
The weekend began with an elegant dinner at Antoine’s. Established in 1840, the restaurant is the
original home of Oysters Rockefeller, with which the group started their evening, ending it with
flaming Baked Alaska as the grand finale.
The guests were greeted by Mary Beth Romig, director of communications and public relations at
the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau, who was moved by Charles’ efforts.
PHOTOS (FACING PAGE) ©iSTOCKPHOTO.COM (TOP) KELLY POLLAK (BOTTOM) CHAD PURSER
22
Lyle St. Romain (in white) takes questions
from reporters about new Charles Industries
products while touring Lake Pontchartrain.
“Every single meeting and event in the
city brings so many things… there’s just
such a deep sense of appreciation for every
visitor who comes.”
“Every single meeting and event in the city
brings so many things,” she said. “First, it’s a
boost to the economy. The people who come,
offer a vote of confidence in the city. And there’s
just such a deep sense of appreciation for every
visitor. The New Orleans experience is very
much alive!”
The next day, Charles teamed with the city’s
own Mayer Yachts, which provided a gorgeous
31 Luhrs Sportfish Hardtop for a tour of the
lake. Though Mayer suffered its own damage at
the hands of the storm, the company is now fully
up and running, a part of the boating community’s ongoing efforts to rebuild and restart.
The group launched from the historic
Southern Yacht Club where, in spite of losing
their facilities in the hurricane, the staff
welcomed Charles Industries and their guests
graciously, providing a location for breakfast,
lunch and meetings in the lovely modular unit
that houses the club while it’s being rebuilt. The
group enjoyed local delights such as turtle soup,
muffuletta and fried shrimp po’ boys.
After filling their tanks, all set out for a cold,
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clear day on Lake Pontchartrain. “It was one of
the roughest days I’ve ever seen on the lake,”
Lyle reported, but the ride was smooth and the
demos were a great success.
Ben Ellison, editor of Power & Motoryacht,
was impressed by the quality of the presentation,
as well as by the products on display. “They obviously really care about New Orleans and really
wanted us to see the city,” he said. Having spent
a winter in the Big Easy in 1972 working on oil
field supply boats, Ben was happy to join the
Charles outing. “I really love this city,” he said.
He was stirred by the dramatic contrast between
those businesses that have managed to get on
their feet, such as the Yacht Club, and the
destruction still surrounding them.
Among the products Charles brought out for
the event was SmartBoost, a new AC voltage
booster that adds boosting capability to any
existing 50-amp marine transformer. When dockside power drops below 210 VAC, SmartBoost
provides a 15 percent AC voltage boost. Easy to
install and use, SmartBoost provides fully automatic operation with manual 1:1 override.
Also ready for its close-up was StartNow,
Charles’ microprocessor-controlled back-up
starter unit. StartNow is designed to provide
guaranteed back-up battery charging while the
boat’s engine is turned off, allowing electronics
to run off the main battery system, and automatically switching batteries if it detects a lack of
cranking power.
What grabbed Ben’s eye most, though, was
the new isolation transformer, the ISO-G2, a
deceptively simple-looking plain white box that
serves to protect boats from shore-power problems. “You’ll never know it’s on your boat,” he
reviewed, “except perhaps because of all the bad
things that don’t happen.”
The ISO-G2 allows a shore ground to
terminate to a shield between the transformer’s
windings, separated from the yacht’s AC ground.
“It makes a boat into a bird on a wire,” says Larry
Budd, an engineer at Charles Industries, referring to the same kind of electrical isolation that
allows birds to land safely on high-voltage wires.
For Anne Giovingo, a Charles Industries sales
representative based in New Orleans’ Waters &
PHOTO (ABOVE LEFT) ©iSTOCKPHOTO.COM / CHAD PURSER
24
25
David, the entire event met a need that was both
municipal and personal.
“Charles took the leap of faith and invested
time and money to bring people here,” she said.
“It goes to so many levels, so many layers where
one event spreads out and helps in so many ways.
As a local, I won’t forget that. It was a very standup thing to do.”
Of course, the irony is that, after all the loss,
the commercial marine business is actually now
booming in the Gulf region. Donovan Marine,
Charles’ distributor in the area and the second
largest marine products distributor in the country, is experiencing a rise in business as recovery
continues. Big supply vessels are being built, and
the Workboat Show has made a commitment to
return to New Orleans every year. Charles will
also return, and whenever they have something
new to debut, Lyle said, they will certainly consider adding another full-scale presentation.
Anne Giovingo for one is quite pleased with
that plan. “We are all very sensitive now to who
sticks with us,” she said. “And conventions, as a
general rule, bring in high caliber people—the
kind that any city would want to have visit.”
Bill Parlatore, publisher and editor of
PassageMaker Magazine, was also among Charles’
guests that weekend, and he says that his hosts
went out of their way to showcase New Orleans
at its best. “This was a story I needed to write,”
he said.
Lyle is thrilled to be part of the greater story
of recovery in New Orleans. “The people were
blown away by everything,” Lyle said, “by the
resiliency of the people of New Orleans, by the
new products and by the show we put on.”
Like all those who have helped with the
recovery efforts, Charles Industries is a testament
to the true power of people.
PREMIERE ISSUE / amped
FEATURE / SEARS TOWER
26
TOWER ABOVE
IN THE TOWERS ABOVE THE EARTH, WE SCRAPE THE SKY,
WRITE CURSIVE NOTES IN THE CLOUDS AND LIGHT THE HEAVENS.
IN THE TOWERS ABOVE THE EARTH, WE ARE HUGE
ofty buildings and spindly spires
boldly proclaim our competence and
nerve. On the shoulders of architects,
financiers and builders, we stand tall, buzzing on
our own hubris. And when we get that elevated,
up there at the highest points, we shine our
brightest lights. At that altitude, why be shy?
“Here we are,” we seem to say. “We’ve arrived.”
It certainly feels that way in Chicago.
Chicago’s skyline is one of the world’s most celebrated, a true classic for both its breadth and
drama. Historic gems rub shoulders with the
thoroughly modern; stately reserve complements
fierce ambition. And standing sentry over it all is
Sears Tower, broad of shoulder and topping out
110 stories above the street. The tower has good
company, of course, not least its 100-story older
sibling, the John Hancock Building. But since
1973, the Sears Tower has been top dog in
Chicago and, for much of that time, the world.
As such, the tower has always drawn a lot of
attention, both a blessing and a challenge that the
building’s management treats as a sacred trust.
And the group whose attention they are perhaps
L
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most interested in capturing? Pilots, of course, because at 1,454 feet, Sears Tower is not only awe-inspiring, it’s a hazard. That’s why if you watch the tower’s radio and television broadcast antennas closely,
you’ll see the telltale strobe of the building’s aviation obstruction lighting system sending out its warning both day and night.
“You have to have FAA approval of the lighting on any towers more than 200 feet tall, and there
are different requirements at different heights,” explains Rick Sullivan, president and owner of Skytec,
Inc. His company specializes in the high-intensity aviation obstruction lighting required for anything
that reaches more than 500 feet into the sky, and Sears Tower was one of Skytec’s highest altitude contracts. “It’s quite thrilling to be up on top of Sears Tower,” Rick continues, “perhaps more so because
any servicing has to be done late, late at night after the broadcasters have shut down so you don’t get
bombarded with R.F. (radio frequency).”
Skytec’s main product is a strobe system that bursts out 1,000 volts to fire xenon gas-discharge
tubes. The resulting flash can be seen for at least three miles day and night and often much farther
depending upon visibility. The strobes fire 40 times per minute…forever. The FAA allows almost no
margin for error, and they must be notified within 30 minutes when a light goes down so they can
warn pilots in the area. It’s crucial functionality, and when Skytec needs transformers to handle the
load, they turn to Charles Industries.
“We started using Charles transformers around 1980, giving us 27 years of exposure to them,” Rick
says. “It really comes down to reliability. Getting access to these installations can be quite difficult. Sears
Tower isn’t that bad because you ride an elevator most of the way and then climb 200 feet, but many
of our setups are ladder climbs the whole way. These transformers typically weigh 20 pounds or more,
and you don’t want to carry one up an 800-foot ladder very often. We might have to replace two or
three a year out of the 10,000 that we’ve put in. The lifespan on them is supposed to be 15 to 20 years,
but truly the failure rate is so small that they don’t really have a definable lifespan.”
PHOTO (FACING PAGE) ©iSTOCK / JEREMY EDWARDS
BY RANDY HESS
Western Forum in Los Angeles.
Typical setup is a single multi-tap, feroresonance constant current transformer powering
several lamps. The transformers have to take a
relatively constant 480-volt input and spike it up
to 1,000 volts every second and a half to fire the
lamp. The high-output xenon tubes used on
most installations produce 270,000 candela (or
roughly the light of 270,000 candles) with each
flash during the day. They are turned down to a
mere 2,000 candelas at night when they are easier to see and might annoy neighbors. Skytec’s
systems also incorporate louvers to reduce
“ground scatter” and further spare the neighbors.
The FAA requires that all systems earn the ETL
testing mark from Intertek Laboratories. Among
other tests, the Charles Industries transformers and
the rest of the system’s components must prove
their endurance at plus- and minus-50 degrees
centigrade, in driving rain, in a blanketing salt fog
and at extreme humidity. On top of this, in the
field the units are constantly struck by lightning.
“I think it’s just amazing that these things can
pass these really stringent tests and hold up so
well for so long,” Rick says. “Over the years we’ve
found that the transformers were able to withstand even a lot more than we thought. We used
to put way too many fuses on them to protect
them because nobody wants to climb the tower
with a 20-pound transformer to replace a busted
one. But we realized that we kept having to
replace fuses, instead. So we worked with Charles
to make some minor changes to the units, and
now we’ve found that they can take the abuse
even without all that excess protection.”
And that’s performance taken to another level.
Nearly 1,500 feet above the earth, that’s huge.
The Charles transformers have to take a
relatively constant 480-volt input and spike
it up to 1,000 volts every second and a half
to fire the lamp...and do it forever.
28
Rick’s accent announces that he’s from Maine
even before he tells you Skytec is based there. “It’s
kind of a specialized field,” he says of the aviation
obstruction lighting business. “There are really
just three primary U.S. manufacturers. I got into
it in 1975. It’s easy to remember because I’m an
avid Red Sox fan and in ’75 they were in the
World Series. When they got to game 7, I tried to
find scalped tickets, but there was no way, so I
ended up climbing up on top of the center field
wall to watch the game. My brother saw me up
there on TV and said, ‘If you’re going to do something that stupid, you might as well get paid for
it.’ And now here I am, 30-some years in the
business.” Other notable Skytec clients have
included the Kennedy Space Center at Cape
Canaveral, the Omega global navigation stations
in Liberia, communications towers at the end of
the Trans-Alaska Pipeline in Prudhoe Bay, the
IDS Tower in Minneapolis and the Great
29
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER PHOTO ©iSTOCK / WOLFGANG MAJOR
(Previous page) Sears Tower twinkles above
Chicago’s skyline. (Here) Rick Sullivan (mid-climb,
at left) has built Skytec around reliability, counting
on Charles Industries transformers, whether
lighting buildings, communications towers or
Kennedy Space Center towers.
TOWER PHOTOS BY STUDIO SHELBY PHOTOGRAPHY
TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT
The rugged reliability that makes Charles the right
choice at 1,500 feet in a crackling thunderstorm is the
same bulletproof performance that makes it right for a
tank charging across the desert or a Coast Guard patrol
boat fighting the surf off Cape Disappointment.
Whether the power needs are AC or DC, Charles has the
technology and fortitude
to deliver the goods in the
harshest environments.
When the U.S. Coast
Guard and the U.S. Army
requisition equipment for
their fleets they don’t do it
blindly; their testing protocols ensure that crucial
M1 ABRAMS TANK
components won’t fail at
the wrong time leaving
their people in trouble.
Charles
Industries
is
proud to be the exclusive
battery charger onboard
the Army’s M1 Abrams
Tank and the Coast
Guard’s 87’ Coastal Patrol
Boat. “It’s an honor to
USCG 87’ CPB
have these agencies that
are so crucial to our nation’s safety and well-being
place their trust in our chargers,” says Lyle St. Romain,
general manager of the Charles Marine and Industrial
group. “It is mission-critical equipment for them. We
take that responsibility very seriously, just as we do for
all of our customers.”
PREMIERE ISSUE / amped
FEATURE / SHAKE-A-LEG
30
LAUNCHING BOATS
AND DREAMS
JOE CHARLES OF CHARLES INDUSTRIES GIVES A BOAT AND HIS
TIME TO THE INSPIRATIONAL SHAKE-A-LEG MIAMI WATERSPORTS
COMMUNITY CENTER
STORY AND PHOTOS BY SUZANNE HAWLEY
W
e come across thousands of
people and places throughout
our lives, and yet, there are
certain ones that linger in our minds, long after
they’ve left our sight. One of these places is
Shake-A-Leg Miami (SALM), a watersports
community center serving children and adults
with physical, developmental and economic
challenges. Located in Coconut Grove, approximately 15 miles north of Miami, SALM is
often described as the ‘gateway to Biscayne
Bay.’ Universally accessible, the facility offers
recreational sailing and instruction, kayaking,
canoeing, power boating and more to people
from 8 to 80 years plus. Operating in partnership with the City of Miami Parks
Department, the organization has successfully
created an inspirational haven, where people of
all backgrounds and abilities find common
ground or, perhaps, common water.
The cornerstone and founder of this experiential learning facility is Harry Horgan, a man
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with piercing blue eyes and a kind smile. The roots of Shake-A-Leg Miami go back to 1982, when
Horgan founded Shake-A-Leg in Newport, Rhode Island. Paralyzed after an accident in 1980,
Horgan discovered during his own rehabilitation that the physically challenged need a place where
they can build confidence and strengthen their bodies after traditional hospital-based rehabilitation.
Dr. Barth Green, neurosurgeon and director of the applied research programs of The Miami
Project to Cure Paralysis, recognized this pioneering work and convinced Shake-A-Leg to expand
its operation to Miami, where he co-founded the new facility in 1990. “At Shake-A-Leg Miami,
we don’t believe in walls; we believe in water,” says Harry. “Our motto has always been ‘Launching
Boats and Dreams.’”
During my visit to the grand opening of Shake-A-Leg’s world-class watersports center, I had
the pleasure of meeting some of the kids who were learning to sail on a gloriously sunny south
Florida day. To witness a child who has never been on a boat before get into a Shake-A-Leg
sailboat and become an active participant of the crew is a sight that will remain one of my life’s
most inspiring memories. Wheelchairs were eagerly traded for the helm of the sailboat as the wind
effortlessly carried them across the surface of the water. Standing at the dock, I was overcome by
the strength of their spirit and what it must mean to them to feel this kind of physical freedom.
In support of Horgan’s mission of healing broken spirits and restoring a measure of
independence to broken bodies, more than 100 successful partnerships have been created with
community organizations, both public and private. One of SALM’s ardent and passionate supporters is Joe Charles, president and owner of Charles Industries in Rolling Meadows, Illinois,
and founder of River Forest Yachting Centers located in Stuart and Ortona, Florida. A lifelong
boater and active participant in the marine industry, Joe donated a 20-foot Catalina Freedom
32
Independence sailboat to Shake-A-Leg Miami,
and a second boat to its sister organization in
Chicago, the Judd Goldman Adaptive Sailing
Foundation (JGASF). Liberator is one of nine
Freedom Independence sailboats at Shake-ALeg Miami’s watersports center that were
designed and built by Everett Pearson, president of Tillotson Pearson Inc. Designed to be
universally accessible, this unique sailboat has
two swivel seats, and all lines come to the
cockpit to give wheelchair-bound individuals
maximum safety and control. Liberator is a
well-loved and popular vessel used as part of
the organization’s extensive sailing instruction
and sailboat racing program. Joe has remained
a consistent supporter of SALM and has
recently hosted some of the SALM children at
River Forest Yachting Center in Stuart.
I keep a photo of the Shake-A-Leg Miami
crew on my desk at home as a constant
reminder of the amazing accomplishments
that are possible even in the most difficult of
The Charles family is pleased to sponsor
the Shake-A-Leg Miami foundation and
to support their mission of making dreams
come true and enabling people to achieve
their goals.
circumstances. Perhaps Winston Churchill
said it best: “A pessimist sees the difficulty in
every opportunity, but an optimist sees the
opportunity in every difficulty.” Harry and the
rest of his crew at Shake-A-Leg Miami, it
seems, have chosen to take the optimist’s
perspective, and have helped hundreds of
physically, developmentally and economically
challenged men, women and children to see
the opportunities in their own hardships.
Charles Industries President and CEO Joe Charles
(back row, in hat) poses with Shake-A-Leg Miami
guests and crew, including SALM founder Harry
Horgan (front row, far right), in front of the Catalina
Freedom 20 sailboat Joe donated.
amped / PREMIERE ISSUE